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Ingersoll's Mistakes 



ABOUT MOSES. 



-X- 



By d. r. dungan. 



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R jVo.Jj.kZ.l.A 

X- 
CENTKA.L BOOK CONCERN, 

CINCINNATI. OHIO, AND OSKALOOSA, IOWA, 

1879. 



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Copyright 1879, 

by 

CENTRAL BOOK CONCERN. 



INGERSOLL'S MISTAKES 

ABOUT MOSES. 



The lecture which I am about to review- 
was delivered in Chicago, Illinois, March 
23d, A. D. 1879, It is Mr. IngersolPs stere- 
otyped lecture entitled " Some Mistakes of 
Moses." The report of this speech in the 
Chicago Tribune of March 24th, has laugh- 
ter eighty-one times; frequently it is preced- 
ed by such words as "continued," "renew- 
ed," "great," "prolonged," "uproarious." 
Applause also occurs twelve times. Hence 
the speech must have been a profound 
one, and heard by a refined and intellectual 
audience, 

Mr. Ingersoll is a most extraordinary 
man. His wit is sparkling and original; his 
invective is withering, and the undercurrent 
of blasphemy hisses through almost every 
paragraph; his humor protrudes, and if ever 



4 INGERSOLL S MISTAKES 

put on the background comes to the front 
again on the slightest provocation; he is 
reckless in his statements; he is irreverent 
— not to say impudent — in his treatment of 
believers; his power in assertion is a rare 
gift; in the use of hyperbole he surpasses 
the wildest imagination of the most fervid 
oriental; his logic is suffering from paraly- 
sis and gives no signs of recovery; to make 
half-statements of facts and create false issues 
respecting them, he is the peer of any man, 
living or dead. He is not a slave to truth, 
but a free man. When he wishes to take a 
position, he takes it, and if the facts are ad- 
verse, it is all the worse for them. It would 
be unreasonable to ask such a man to descend 
to the dull routine of logic. If he were 
compelled to establish his premises by the in- 
duction of facts and reach his conclusion in 
a legitimate way, the opportunities for the dis- 
play of genius would be gone, and he would 
become as tame and dull and stupid and plat- 
itudinarian as clergymen whom he repre- 
sents as occupying the caverns of darkness, 
and, like* the owls, " hooting the hoots that 



ABOUT MOSES. 5 

have been hooted for the last 1800 years." 
Unless he should be permitted to perform his 
feats of clog-dancing on the slack-wire of his 
own spiritual aberration and turn intellectual 
hand-springs to the astonishment of the com- 
mon people and the unbounded delight of the 
God-hating, the spell of his power would be 
broken and there would even be danger of 
mistaking him for a common man. In the 
use of materials, he is gifted beyond a parallel 
in history. If you have read his episode on 
the gods you have read the quintessence of 
all his more recent effusions. He changes the 
combinations, rearranges the compilations and 
variations and thus startles the world and con- 
vulses his disciples with a lecture that is un- 
questionably new in its title. 

As for Moses, Mr. Ingersoll, evidently 
neither knows, nor cares to know much about 
him. But the name gave him a new suit for 
his old lecture, and furnished him with an 
opportunity to fling his innuendoes and vitu- 
perations at believers in Christ, and uproar 
the liberty-loving with mirthfulness. At just 
what they laughed, one can't always tell from 



D INGERSOLLS MISTAKES 

heading the lecture; but they laughed and 
cheered, and so the speaker accomplished his 
purpose. 



PITY FOR PREACHERS. 



The lecture opens with _ commiseration for 
.preachers.. These conies are but a feeble folk. 
They, are aclass of unlearned, insipid, narrow- 
minded, slack- twisted, hair-brained, half-wit- 
Jfeed, illrconstructed, bigoted, egotistic dullards. 
They would not do for doctors, lawyers, or 
politicians^ and the ministry is therefore the 
only market open to these unfortunates. With 
such thoughts? the bowels of the orator yearn 
toward these helpless victims of superstition, 
and he deluges them with his overflowing 
sympathy until they are covered quite out of 
sight. Kind man that he is! 

What a critique is all this sentimental sali- 
va on the millions of church-goers in our own 
land. And when we think that the best minds 
of all civilized nations are under the control of 
these clergymen, and willing to listen to them 
week after week and year after year, and sup- 
port them with their influence and money, 



ABOUT MOSES. *J 

Mr. Ingersoll's grimaces, distortions, and 
wailings should not be wondered at. If these 
men could only be won away from these old 
theological dogmas, that demand so much sac- 
rifice of worldly charms, and their hope of fu- 
ture rewards, and he had to look up and be- 
hold the beauty and grandeur of the new gos- 
pel of frog-spawn and protoplasm, they might 
even yet attain to some of the lower rounds of 
mental independency before they go to the 
land of forgetfulness, from whence comes no 
cheering ray of light, nor word of promise. 
But how sad, how inexpressibly sad, must be 
the thought that when they have been gotten 
to hear a dozen or a half dozen of the world 
regulating lectures from the most astonishing 
orator of which the present age can boast, 
they grow sick and tired and return to the old 
story about Jesus of Nazareth. 

Ministers are a set of goodish weaklings, 
with neither the ability nor the inclination to 
make any progress. The majority of them 
may be men of extensive reading; many thous- 
ands may have graduated from institutions in 
which Mr. Ingersoll would not be a respecta- 



O INGERSOLI/S MISTAKES 

ble sophomore, but what boots it, as they are 
Christians, and not infidels, they are unlearned 
and ignorant men, 

On the other handy as soon as a man be- 
comes an infidel, he is learned. It is not neces- 
sary for him to graduate in any institution of 
learning, that he should have a knowledge of 
the classics, or history, or any branch of sci- 
ence ; let him avow infidel views and read some 
lectures, on geology, the flood and the origin 
of man and he will be ready to placard him- 
self— Prof. Shoddy from Boston. He can then 
look wisely, talk of the pious-incompetent, in 
our Universities, criticise believers, and pro- 
nounce the whole religious world a race of un- 
learned and narrow-hearted bigots. 

CHURCH AND SCHOOL. 

Mr. Ingersoll says, " I wish to see an eternal 
divorce and separation between church and 
School." 

: I have no doubt of it. And yet, but for the 
work of the church, we would be a full centu- 
ry behind our present educational status. And 
remove the colleges that Christians have built 



ABOUT MOSES. 9 

and endowed from our own land, and there 
would be such a relapse in our educational 
work as a hundred years of secular effort 
would not make good. Though infidels have 
done nothing in the way of furnishing the op- 
portunities for the higher education, yet it is 
the legitimate work of their orators to traduce 
Christians, and insinuate that all learned men 
are infidels, and that in the place of the old 
superstition, they would give us science!! Such 
are their claims. Never was there a people 
with such large pretentions, and yet such small 
assets when the balance sheets are stricken, as 
the infidels of the present time. 

Our orator says of Christians, " They be- 
lieve in three gods with one head." 

From what nonsense that has been perpe- 
trated in the name of Christianity this statement 
may have come, or if it were only thrown in 
as a funnygram, to fill up, and amuse, I can't 
say. At any rate the intelligence of his audi- 
ence was sufficient to enable them to see the 
point, for they laughed; and, no doubt, the 
purpose of the speaker was accomplished. 



10 ingersoll's mistakes 

The following display of logical acumen 
ought surely to astonish the world: 

" Now, it was said that the Bible was in- 
spired. Was it true? If true, it did not need 
to be inspired." 

Neither the gentleman himself nor the 
committee who conducted the laughing ser- 
vice seems to know the purpose of inspiration. 
It was not the purpose of inspiration to 
change the facts, but to make them known. 
Many truths lie hidden from sight, and, if 
known, must be revealed by One wiser than 
we. Thus, by the aid of inspiration, the 
prophets were enabled to look into the future 
and tell of coming events with all the accu- 
racy with which the historian could after- 
ward record them. 

GENESIS AND JOSHUA. 

I will now read you a paragraph which, 
for misapprehension, stupidity and buffoonery, 
can only be equaled by the gentleman him- 
self: 

" At the time spoken of, it would seem that 
light and darkness were mixed, — and of course 
any one would perceive how this could be 



ABOUT MOSES. II 

Darkness was evidently believed to be an 
entity. It was said to have spread over Egypt 
so thick that it could be felt, and some ot it 
was afterward exhibited at Rome in a bottle." 
Here is a sample of the erudition of the 
orator and the intelligence of those who did 
his laughing: 

" The next day ■ they ' made the sun and 
moon, — the sun to rule by day, the moon by 
night, — and set them for signs and for seasons. 
The man who wrote that must have thought 
the sun was about three feet in diameter, for, 
according to the same book, the sun was 
stopped a whole day to give a general by 
the name of Joshua time to kill a few more 
Amalekites, and another time it was turned 
ten degrees backward to convince Hezekiah 
that he was not going to die of a boil. How 
much easier it would have been to cure the 
boil! It had been calculated by one of the 
best mathematicians and astronomers that to 
stop the world would cause as much heat as it 
would take to burn a lump of solid coal three 
times as big as the earth. Col. Ingersoll said 
he supposed he would be damned if he didn't 
believe it, and he'd be damned if he did be- 
lieve it." 

In respect to accuracy of statement, that 
excels almost any paragraph in the whole 



12 ingersoll's mistakes 

speech. It contains five sentences, and yet 
there are but three clearly pronounced un- 
truths in it! Now, for such a man, with such 
a subject and on such an occasion, the re- 
straints of conscience must have been severe 
to cause him to adhere so closely and tamely 
to the facts ! The sun is not said to have stood 
still when Joshua fought with the Amalekites. 
There is no statement as to when the sun, 
moon and stars were made. There is no evi- 
dence that any one supposed the sun was 
about three feet in diameter. No one said the 
world stood still. But then he had more sen- 
tences than positive slips of statement, and 
that is well for him. 

As to the existence of light before the trans- 
parency of the fourth day, or how the light of 
day was continued while Joshua fought against 
the Amorites, or by what means the shadow 
was made to recede from Hezekiah, I know 
nothing. But I accept these revelations on 
their own basis, and can believe them to be 
the work of divine power. All miraculous 
occurrences must ever remain beyond our 
reach while we are in the flesh. 



ABOUT MOSES. 13 



CREATION OF MAN. 



We next have the gentleman attending to 
the creation of man. He says that the ac- 
counts of making of man and woman were 
contradictory, for this reason; 

" In one place man was spoken of as the last 
thing made; in another, as made before the 
beasts; in the former as being made male and 
female; and in the latter, only the man was 
made, and there was no intention of making a 
woman whatever. In fact, according to the 
second chapter, Adam was offered a beast as a 
helpmeet, but Adam didn't see anything he 
fancied. Col. Ingersoll was glad he didn't. 
If he had, there never would have been a 
free-thinker in the world, and we should have 
all died orthodox." 

Again we are blinded by the brilliancy of 
oratory and astonished at the gentleman's re- 
search and depth of knowledge in divine 
things. Even the Scriptures are open to his 
sight! 

1. There is no account of man being made 
before the beasts. 

2. There is no statement of creation that 
indicates a want of intention to make woman. 



14 INGERSOLL S MISTAKES 

3. There is no indication in the Scriptures 
that Adam was ever offered a beast as a help- 
meet. 

4. If there had been such a companion 
chosen, there might have been a race of infi- 
dels, as they delight in such genealogy. 

Here again the untruths are about equal to the 
number of periods. Any man who will read 
the Scriptures may know why the two notices 
of the beginning of man occur, and that the 
latter is an itemized account of several things, 
without following the order in which these 
things came. But why should Mr. Ingersoll 
be blamed? It was his purpose to find that 
Moses had made some mistakes. And as 
Moses had not made them, the gentleman 
was compelled to make them for him. If 
any clergyman in the United States should 
deal thus rudely and unfairly with any infidel 
author, I would expect him to be regarded 
as coarse, vulgar and untruthful. But as this 
was done by Mr. Ingersoll, the orator and 
genius of the age, and as it was Moses, who, 
perhaps, had no friend in the crowd, that the 
gentleman was bedaubing and besmirching, 



ABOUT MOSES. I 5 

Tt only adds to the laurels already achieved in 
his benevolent calling. 

Mr. Ingersoll then represents Christians as 
expecting to be happy because others are to 
be damned, and also because they believe the 
Bible account of woman having been made 
from the rib of the man. Of course this has 
no existence in fact, but what of that? Both 
the speaker and the hearer were just as merry 
as if there were any such beings as those 
whom he represented. 

THE FRUITS. 

Then the free-thinker was introduced as a 
model gentleman; faithful to his wife and 
children, kind and true to all men, and yet 
the poor fellow has to be shut out of heaven 
simply because he could not agree with the 
narrow-mindedness and bigotry of the 
churches. 

After this, some delinquent disciple asks 
permission to pass into the realms of bliss. 
When strictly questioned, he is found to be a 
liar, a thief and a bigamist, and a scoundrel 
on general principles; and yet he is permit- 



1 6 INGERSOLI-'s -MISTAKES 

ted to enter through the pearly gates, sim- 
ply because he believes that God made Adam 
and Eve. And all this senseless drivel is pre- 
sented as being the veritable faith of the 
whole Christian world. This shows what an 
easy thing it is to make a creed for an oppo- 
nent, and then condemn him for the foolish 
things you have made him affirm. 

In this comparison, the best character 
among skeptics is opposed to the poorest char- 
acter among believers. Suppose that some 
clergyman should deal with the subject in this 
way ! Let him present the pious Knox or the 
God-fearing Wesley as samples of Christian 
life, and with them compare some lecherous 
scape-grace as the legitimate work of unbelief! 
Would they not every where raise the cry of 
unfairness? And yet these are real charac- 
ters, while those of Mr. Ingersoll were pure- 
ly imaginary. Believers have in their ranks 
multiplied thousands of the purest and noblest 
men on the earth. It is also true that infidel- 
ity represents hundreds of thousands very lik e 
the brutal Rand, whose soul was saturated 
with every vice, and whose very name had 



ABOUT MOSES. 1 7 

almost become a synonym for all the more 
fearful crimes known to the catalogue, who, 
when the crowd pressed upon the prison bars 
to look upon this caged lion, looked them 
undauntedly in the face, and then, stretching 
himself to his full height, said, u I am a Bob 
Ingersoll man!" 

We do not shrink from any comparison of 
systems, either by the use of reason or of fact. 
It is not possible that the influence of skepti- 
cism upon morals can be otherwise than in- 
jurious. The doctrine of materialism is the 
doctrine of individual irresponsibility. And 
when a man is made to believe that he will 
die like a beast, he will most likely live like 
one. If there is no future dependent upon 
the character formed here, then the wish of 
the hour will furnish the rule of life* Am I 
told that there are men and women or honor 
among infidels? I readily grant it. But their 
honor is in no way attributable to their infi- 
delity. They are better than their philosophy, 
for it is without a redeeming feature. 

He has the Christian doctrine of the atone- 
ment saving the murderer while it damns the 



i8 ingersoll's mistakes 

murdered. We would not have known of 
the existence of any such a doctrine but for 
the gentleman's kindness. The atonement 
has made it possible for all men to be saved, 
while if any refuse they are left where their 
own sins have placed them. 

THE DELUGE. 

The flood of Noah and the ark are the next 
objects of his learned hilarity. In the ark, 
especially, he finds the fatted calf with which 
to make merry with his friends. 

u The building of the ark, which had one 
door, which shut on the outside, and one win- 
dow twenty-two inches square. If Noah had 
any hobby in the world it was ventilation. 
He went into this ark, taking his family with 
him, and a certain number of all the animals 
in the world. It had been ascertained that 
there were 1,100,000 insects necessary to go 
into this ark. The audience could see the 
trouble that man had. Some people said the 
flood was not universal, that it was partial; 
but if that was the case why did God say, l I 
will destroy every living substance beneath 



ABOUT MOSES. 19 

the whole heaven?' If it was partial, why 
did Noah put the birds in there — the eagle 
the vulture, the condor? How did he get 
them in? Were they inspired to go there, or 
did he drive them up? There were also ani- 
mals in this hemisphere. How did he get 
them across? It must be remembered that 
there are some animals which would be very 
unpleasant in an ark, unless the ventilation 
were perfect. After he got the animals in, 
God shut the door, and Noah pulled down the 
window. Then it began to rain. It kept on 
raining until the water went over the highest 
mountains whose peaks were covered with 
snow and ice. The water was five and one- 
half miles deep, and it must have rained 800 
feet -a day. How was that for dampness? 
Finally they came down upon Mount Ararat, 
17,000 feet above the level of the sea. Then 
Noah opened the window and got a breath of 
fresh air, and they let out the animals, and 
Noah got a drink. Then God made a bar- 
gain with him that He wouldn't drown any 
more, and put the rainbow on the clouds as 
& 1 testing what He said*" 



20 INGERSOLI/S MISTAKES 

On the representation of the flood I remark, 
i. There is no evidence that the window 

spoken of was the only medium of light and 

ventilation. 

2. We cannot now determine either the 
form or the size of this window. 

3. The animals came to him by divine di- 
rection, the denial of which only raises the old 
question of miracles on which infidels have 
been answered, times without number. 

4. His statement respecting insects, if made 
by any other man than an infidel, and to any 
other than an infidel audience, would be re- 
garded as casting a reflection on the free 
school system. 

5. From all that can be found in Genesis, 
it is not necessary to regard the flood as uni^ 
versal. 

6. The flood was most probably brought 
about by the upheaval of the earth's crust 
where it was thinest, thus elevating the ocean 
bed, and correspondingly depressing the land- 
portion. Only a few feet of elevation of the 
ocean bed would be needed. Hence the diffi- 
culties of the flood were manufactured for the 



ABOUT MOSES. 21 

occasion. And all their uproarious merriment 
is only another proof that men can laugh at 
the things of which they are wholly ignorant. 

THE INCREASE OF ISRAEL. 

The gentleman next startled his hearers by 
telling how : the Jewish nation was started. 

" They were in Canaan then, and they num- 
bered seventy souls, counting Joseph and his 
children, who were already in Egypt. They 
lived in Canaan 215 years, and then went into 
Egypt where they also lived 215 years, at the 
expiration of which time they numbered 3,- 
000,000 souls. At the time of the Revolution 
in this country, there were 3,000,000 people. 
Since that time there had been four doubles, 
until now there are 48,000,000. In 215 years, 
with eight doubles, the children of Israel would 
have increased to 40,000, instead of 3,000,000. 
He knew there were 3,000,000, because they 
had 600,000 men of war. For every honest vot- 
er in the State of Illinois there were five other 
people, and everybody knew that there were 
more voters, as a rule, than there were men 
of war. If the Jews had 600,000 men of war, 
they must have had, at the lowest possible esti- 
mate, 3,000,000 people. Was that true? Was 
there a minister in Chicago w r ho would certify 



22 INGERSOLL's TAKMlSES 

to his own idiocy by claiming that 70 people 
in 215 years increased to 3,000,000? If there 
was, let him say so, and don't let him begin to 
talk about the civilizing influence of a lie. 
When they got into the desert they took a 
census, and found they had 22,273 first-born 
males. It was reasonable to suppose there 
was about the same number of first-born girls, 
or 45,000 first-born children. There must be 
about as many mothers as first-born children. 
Dividing 3,000,000 by 45,000 mothers, it was 
found that the women in Israel had to have ort 
the average 68 children apiece. Some stories 
were too- thin. This was too thick. There 
must have been about 300 births per day, and 
according to 1 the Old Testament, the mother 
had to make a sacrifice for the crime of having 
been a mother 5 ! If there was anything in the 
universe that was infinitely pure, it was a 
mother with a child in her arms, and yet a 
Jewish women had to sacrifice a couple of 
doves or pigeons, and the priests had to eat 
the pigeons in the most holy place. At the 
rate of 300 births a day, and with only three 
priests, each of the latter would have had to 
eat 200 pigeons apiece per day. Col. Inger- 
soil looked upon those priests as the champion 
bird-eaters of this world." 



ABOUT MOSES. 23 

Let us sum up the facts here. 

1. The circumstances of the Jews while 
in Egypt were conducive to a rapid increase 
of numbers. 

2. We know that they had 51 males at the 
beginning of their 215 years of bondage. 

3. Each man might have had a family of 
ten children within ten years after going into 
Egypt. And a like increase might have ob- 
tained every 30 years there-after. 

4. This would give us eight generations; 
counting ten years for the first, 30 for all the 
others except the last which would have but 
25. This however would be enough, as we 
are at liberty to suppose they had many chil- 
dren when they came out of bondage. 

5. If these children were half boys and half 
girls, then each generation would increase 
their males by five fold. 

6. The following calculation will show the 
number that they might have had, and yet no 
miracle needed. 



24 ingersoi.l's mistakes 

The number they went into Egypt with, 51 

1st Generation thereafter, . . 255 

2d " " . . . 1,275 

$d " « . . 6,375 

4 th « « . . 31,875 

5th «* « . . 159,375 

6th " ; " - . . 696,875 

7* h " " • 3>9 8 4>375 

8th M « r? , ; . . ; . 19,921,785. 

Thus by natural causes, their numbers might 
have been 33 times what they were recorded. 
. And yet there were more than 51 males that 
went down into Egypt with Jacob. It would 
be unreasonable to suppose that he had no ser- 
vants. And they too would go in the nation- 
al count. From Gen. 14: 14, we learn that 
Abraham had 318 trained men in his service 
who answered as soldiers. Nor can we sup- 
posje that Jacob was without such help. When 
he was returning from Padan Aram he sent 
many presents to Esau in advance of his com- 
ing. At least 30 men would have been need- 
ed to have conveyed these flocks. See Gen, 
32: 13-20. 

Then he remained in Canaan at least forty 
years, and was greatly prospered. His song 



ABOUT MOSES. 25 

also have come to own extensive flocks and 
herds, and would also have many servants. 
To suppose that there were 200 in the family, 
100 men servants and 100 women servants, 
would be a very moderate calculation. Upon 
this basis, then, there would have been at least 
150 men who went down into Egypt and 
hence according to the possible rate of in- 
crease we noticed a few minutes ago, they 
would have had 100 times as many as the 
record calls for. 

The gentleman seems to suppose that all 
the mothers of first-born were then alive; that 
these must have been of recent date; that they 
had but three priests, and that these priests 
had to eat so many pigeons when a first-born 
was offered to the Lord; and yet not one of 
these things is taught in the Scriptures. 

Now if such objections as these were urged 
by some essayist in the presence of a club of 
scientific goslings who read the Science 
Monthly, and sneeze when Prof. Youmans 
takes snuff; who suppose that they will never 
■have credit for independency of thought unless 
they sneer at religion and the Bible, it would 



26 ingersoll's mistakes 

be no cause of surprise. But to think of a 
grown man ranting out such objections only 
shows that they can find nothing else. Indeed, 
the only wonder, when all the facts are in, is 
that the children of Israel did not number 
more than they did. I rather look for this to 
be their next objection. 

IN THE DESERT. 

The impossibility of finding subsistence in 
the desert was the next thing to be alarmed 
at. But what does the gentleman know about 
that land during that age. The making of 
timber into charcoal in order to pay tribute 
has long ago removed the attractions for rain 
and the land is not now in the condition of 
3000 years ago, nor does it resemble its former 
fertility. 

"The land of Canaan did not flow with milk 
and honey." I suppose not, literally, and yet, 
as compared with their former condition, the 
description was well enough. 

The gentleman snuffs at the manna, and 
thinks it very ordinary food. Possibly a bet- 



ABOUT MOSES. 27 

ter acquaintance would impress him more 
favorably. His ridicule respecting it is only 
the sneer that is made to take the place of 
argument concerning miracle. 

BIBLE AND WOMEN. 

" In speaking of the divorce business, he 
asked if anybody could believe that God 
would allow a man to give his wife a writing 
of divorcement and make the mother of his 
children a houseless wanderer and vagrant? 
There wasn't one word in the Old Testament 
for woman except the words of shame and 
humiliation." 

We would hardly expect the gentleman 
ever to manage a divorce case. And yet 
nothing pleases him better. The divorce sys- 
tem of Illinois is very far below that of the law 
of Moses. And yet Mr. Ingersoll finds no 
fault with it on that account. But Israelites 
were only out of bondage, and because of the 
condition in which they then were, Moses 
gave them this permit. Mark 10: 5. Gener- 
ally, infidel lectures fault the Scriptures be- 
cause they are too strict respecting divorce. 



28 ingersoll's mistakes 

When the gentleman said, "there wasn't one 
word in the Old Testament for women 
except words of shame and humiliation,'' he 
exhibited the quality for which he is more 
noted than for any other. I will name a 
few respects in which the Law of Moses was 
superior to any ancient and most modern 
laws, in awarding justice and furnishing pre* 
tection to woman. 

i. A widow's garments should not be 
demanded as surety. Deut. 24: 17. 

2. She could demand the care and pro- 
tection of the community as her right. Ex. 
22: 22; Deut. 27: 19. 

3. And any neglect or oppression was con- 
demned: Job 22; 9; Psalms 94: 6. 

4. In times of danger she could deposit 
her property in the treasury for safe keeping. 
2 Mace. 3: 10. 

5. Any outrage on a maiden was visited 
with the severest punishment. Deut. 22: 25-27. 
After all this, while listening to the odes of 
Deborah and Hannah, and the song of 
triumph led by Miriam; yet hearing of the 
immortal honor of Jephthah's daughter; our 



ABOUT AIOSKS. 3t> 

ears yet greeted with the shouting joy of the 
multitude of women as they went out to meet 
Saul and David returning with the victorious 
army, he still says there was nothing but 
shame and humiliation for the women. 

High above all the laws of the ancients 
was that of Moses respecting woman. Indeed 
the Bible has ever been and is now the best 
friend to women. And just as it is believed 
and followed does she come to be the com- 
panion and equal of man. 

"What woman believed in the institution of 
polygamy ? What man believed in that in- 
famy? If they did not, they were better than 
their God 4,000 years ago, who believe in it, and 
taught it, and upheld it. The speaker denounc- 
ed it as the infamy of infamies, and made an 
eloquent plea for the sanctity of the family 
hearth." 

God never believed in nor taught polygamy. 
The Scriptures'can not be found that so teach. 
God suffered it, and so he suffered unnumber- 
ed nuisances to run at large. Even good men 
now commit blunders as they did then. But 
that in no way indicates that God sanctioned 
polygamy. But where did Mr, Ingersoll 



30 ingersoel's mistakes 

learn to abhor this institution with such 
righteous indignation? Has it been among 
the nations who know not God? These 
nations practice polygamy yet. Did be get his 
aversion from the philosophy of skepticism? 
It contains no teaching on the subject. Indeed, 
as we shall see, even in his own creed, men 
are left to follow out their own preferences. 
It seems then that he objects to the Bible be- 
cause he makes it contradict the moralty 
which he has learned from it, But in this he 
was only about as inconsistent as his system, 

THE MARROW OF THE THING. 

" He wanted every one to swear that he 
would not, directly or indirectly, give a dol- 
lar to any man to preach these falsehoods of 
the Bible. They had done harm enough, had 
covered the world with blood, with asylums 
for the insane, and to cast a shadow in the 
heart of every child and every good, tender 
man and women. No matter what might 
come, let each do what he believed to be 
right/ 1 

Now you have the marrow and fatness of 
free thought! "Swear that you will not 
give a dollar, directly or indirectly," to the 



ABOUT MOSES, 3I 

religion of the Bible. What a burlesque on 
profanity! How would they swear? By whom 
would they swear? They have no God; and 
why should they waste their time and breath 
with such idle ceremonies? 

But think of the liberality of which they 
boast, and their unutterable contempt for nar- 
row-mindedness. All this, when translated 
into English, reads: Let all the people pay 
me — R. G. Ingersoll — one dollar apiece to 
hear my animadversions on Moses, but no 
one must hear any defence of the religion 
which I malign unless wholly at the expense 
of the friends of the Bible. 

This is in keeping with the whole course of 
the gentleman. Every where (almost) he 
has been challenged to the defence of his 
position, and asked to verify his statements. 
But he can't think of it. The work would be 
too laborious. It is easier to have his say 
where his statements cannot be questioned, 
where he can raise the laugh, and the money, 
and then go on his way rejoicing. The gen- 
tleman knows that if the people shall hear 
both sides of the question his race will be 



3^ INGKRSOLL S MISTAKES 

short and inglorious. Hence his effort to pre- 
vent the defenders of the Bible from being 
heard. This is the liberal foam of Danton, 
Robespierre and Marat over again. But the 
consistency is not such as to entitle it to our 
respect. 

Why do these men remain in our midst? 
Why do they not emigrate to some happy 
land where their souls will not be vexed with 
our devotions; where they could bring up 
their children in the nurture and admonition of 
free thought and free love, and where they 
will never be told of future rewards, by 
preachers, who reason of righteousness, 
temperance, and judgment to come? Ah! 
They wish to remain in a land of schools and 
intelligence^ and unfortunately for the claims 
of infidelity, these exist in the land where 
the people are under the influence of the old 
superstition as they do not exist any where 
else. And it is known too, that business ener- 
gy, and progress in the sciences are about 
in proportion with the acknowledgment of 
the claims of Christianity, 

Unwittingly, the gentleman says that we 



ABOUT MOSES. 



33 



have covered the world with asylums for 
the insane. So we have. He might have 
said the same things respecting asylums for 
the poor, the out-cast, the inebriate, for the 
orphan, the helpless, the fallen; yes, yes: 
we have carried bread to the hungry and 
sunshine into desolate homes. Not only so, 
but to the account of Christianity is to be 
charged the reformatory institutions of the 
age, and nearly all the efforts to save the world 
from drunkenness, and accompanying vices, 
To all of which we plead guilty. And it 
maybe said too, that infidelity is guilty of 
none of these things. 

But when he says that we have covered 
the world with blood, he is contradicted by 
the principles of the religion of Christ and the 
history of the world. The religion introduced 
by the Son of God, is the religion of peace 
and just as it takes possession of the hearts of 
any people, will walls of defense be broken 
down and peace and good will be established 
among men. 

The sum of all that infidelity demands is 
popularly stated; that it was his will that 



34 ingersoll's mistakes 

every man should do what he believed to 
be right. This modern Mirabeau would sweep 
the earth of all religious conviction, and in the 
place of it turn man over to the control of 
his ignorance and passion. It is the doc- 
trine of Hobbes in its primitive form : Let a 
7nan do that which seems good in his own 
eyes, for he owes allegiance to no one but 
himself. And a man is at liberty to do and 
get whatever he wishes that is consistent with 
his personal safety. By this philosophy 
every man becomes a law unto himself. No 
matter how drunken, lecherous, fraudulent, 
infamous and abominable, if only self is satis- 
fied, then it must be all right. Talk of 
blood-letting! Was there ever a more hor- 
rible spectacle than the French Revolution, 
conducted and propelled by infidelity, in 
which 3,000,000 were deliberately butchered 
in less than ten years! Talk of infamy! 
Never has the world known the equal 
of the abominations of those who have put 
God out of their minds! 

In the place of that religion by which we 
have our peace, and happiness and hope, they 



ABOUT MOSES. 35 

will give us unbridled license to do as we 
will; they will paint out the lines between 
virtue and vice, and lull the conscience into 
a sound sleep respecting right and wrong. 
And for their gracious work, there are peo- 
ple who are willing to pay Mr. Ingersoll one 
dollar a piece for every new form into which 
he can put his old tirade against God and 
the Bible. The Psalmist describes them thus: 
" They are corrupt and speak wickedly 
concerning oppression; they speak loftily. 
They set their mouth against the heav- 
ens, and their tongue walketh through the 
earth. Therefore his people return hither, 
and waters of a full cup are wrung out to 
them." Ps. 73: 8-10. 



Publications of 



CHRISTIAN 



CHEAPEST AND BEST! 



The Little Christian. 

Weekly, Semi-Monthly and Monthly. A Beauti- 
ful Illustrated Paper for Sunday-schools. It is intend- 
ed to furnish the children and youth with first-class 
reading- matter for the improvement of heart and mind . 
It is carefully edited and profusely illustrated with find 
engravings . Published for every Sunday in the year. 

The Weekly, per copy, one year 45 cents 

The Semi -Monthly, per cop}', ojie year 25 " 

The Monthly, " " " « 75 " 

Subscriptions for three or six months at same rate. 
No subscription for the Weekly or Semi-monthly will- 
be received for less than 10 copies . 

The Monthly edition is made up from the current 
weekly issues, neatly bound, ami is the only edition 
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The Christian Bible Lessons. 

International iSeries. 

10 copies, one year, to one address fi 20 

25 " " " " " . 2 So 

50 " " " " 5 60 

100 " " " " " 9 60 

If one months' lessons are ordered at a time, the rates 
be will (cash with the order) as follows: 

10 copies So 15 

25 " 030 

5o " .., 055, 

100 " 1 00 

Christian S. S. Teacher. 

Devoted to Sunday-school instructions and interests; 
containing the International Lessons, Maps, 
Notes, Hints, etc., for Teachers, Parents, Superin- 
tendents and all Sunday-school workers. 
Per year 60 cents. 



Central Book Concern. 



Sunday School Cards. 

Sunday-school workers have usually found the following' 
difficulties in the way of success: i< The want of '.prompt 
and regular attendance 2. To meet the necessary ex- 
pense of the school . 

To assist in overcoming these two difficulties, we have 
prepared the following Series of Cards: First, the 

I^aithfnl Series* 
Which have proven of great service in securing the desir 
ed attendance; and, second, the 

Financial Series. 

Which have proven equally successful in solving the mon 
ey problem. 

How to Work tlie System. 

To secure attendance, give to every pupil present, each 
Sunday, a " Be Faithful" card, which is a certificate of 
attendance; and on the last Sunday in each month, redeem 
the " Be Faithful" cards with the "Ever Faithful," 
provided the pupil has as many cards as there were Sun- 
days in the month, otherwise he should not receive his re- 
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the last Sunday in each quarter redeem the " Ever Faith- 
eul" cards with "The Crown. " 

To secure the necessary funds, take up a collection 
every Sunday, giving to each pupil contributing a " Cer- 
tificate of Deposit'' of the denomination of the amount 
contributed; and when the pupil has "Certificate of De- 
posit" representing a certain amount (which has been 
agreed upon by the officers of the school), redeem these 
with the "Faithful Steward." And in like manner re- 
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to keep. 

NEW PRICE LIST. 

No. 50 — Be Faithful Cards. 100 in package % 25 

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CERTIFICATES OF DEPOSIT. 

1, 2, 3 and 5 cent Checks; 100 in package. Price 
per Package 3$ . 

No. 57— The Faithful Steward— to be used for re- 
deeming the Certificates of Deposit. This is a 
very handsome card, printed in several colors, 
12 in package 35 

No. 59 — The Pearl. A superb hromo nid, 8x10 
inches, suitable for framing. It is designed to re- 
deem the Faithful Steward. 12 in package. 
Price " 1 00 



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Sunday School Music Books 

o 

Gospel Echoes- 

By R. G. Staples. A new and choice collection of 
Hymns and Songs for the Sunday-school, Prayer 

Meeting and Home Circle. Price per copy $ 30 

Per dozen 3 00 

Per hundred 25 00 

Pearly Gates. 

A collection of new Songs for the Sunday-school. 

By J . H. Rosecrans. Per copy 25 

Per dozen .... 2 50 

Per hundred 20 00 

Apostolic Hymns and Songs. 

A collection of Hymns and Songs, both new and 
old for the Church, Protracted Meetings and the 
Sunday-school. By D. R. Lucas. This book 
has lately been revised and enlarged . Sixteen 
pages of new matter have been added. Some new 
and popular pieces have been substituted for some 
of the less attractive ones in the old part. It is 
now the Cheapest Music Book published. All 
other books of same size are double the price . 
We anticipate a large sale . Price, single copy, 

by mail 20 

Per dozen, by express 2 00 

Per hundred, by express 16 00 

The Morning Star. 

A collection of new songs for the Sunday-school. 
Bv Knowles Shaw, author of Shining Pearls, 
Sparkling 'Jewels,- Golden Gate, Gospel Trumpet, 

etc . Single copy 35 

Per dozen 3 60 

Per hundred 30 00 

Christian S. S. Hymn Book 

Designed for Sunday-schools and Families. Select- 
ed by a committee, and re-edited by J. W. Mc- 
Garvey and William Baxter . 321110, 136 pages, 

half bound 15 

Per dozen, by mail 1 50 



Ingersolus Mistakes 



ABOUT MOSES. 



By D. R. DUNGAN. 



CENTRAL BOOK CONCERN, 

CINCINNATI, OHIO, AND OSKALOOSA, IOWA. 

1879. 



PRACTICAL AIDS 

FOR 

Sunday-School Workers. 

o 

We give below a list of valuable books for Sunday- 
School Superintendents and Teachers, to assist them in 
their preparation of the Lesson . We recommend these 
books with great confidence, as we feel assured that they 
will be valued by every Sunday- School Teacher who will 
carefully study them. 

Analysis of the Four Gospels 

And Acts; By Pres. R. Milligan, with Leading 
Queries and Illustrations, for the use of Sunday- 
Schools, Families, etc Svo, 413 pages, cloth 2 00 

Commentary on Hebrews. 

By Pres. R. Milligan. Crown Svo, 396 pages. 

Now ready . Cloth $2 00 

Sheep 2 50 

Half calf antique 3 00 

Reason and Revelation. 

Or, The Province of Reason in matters pertaining 
to Divine Revelation Defined and Illustrated. 
By Pres . R. Milligan. Crown 8vc, 564 double- 
column pages, cloth , 2 00 

The Scheme of Redemption 

As it is Revealed and Taught in the Holy Scrip- 
tures. By Pres. R. Milligan Crown Svo, 57S 
pages, cloth s- 2 00 

Commentary on the Gospel 

Of Matthew and Mark. By Prof. J. W. McGar- 
vy. Crown Svo, 3S2 double-column pages . 

Cloth . 2 00 

Sheep 2 50 

Half calf antique 3 00 

Commentary on the Gospel 

Of Luke. By J. S. Lamar. Vol. 2 of New Testa- 
ment Commentary. Crown Svo, 235 pages. 

Cloth 2 00 

Sheep 250 

Half calf 3 00 

Address CENTRAL BOOK CONCERN, 

Cincinnati, Ohio, or Oskaioosa, Iowa. 



Central Book Concern. 



Standard Works. 

Baxter (Wm.) Life of Eld. Walter Scott $2 00 

Br ad en (Clark) Problem of Problems 200 

Brad en and Hughey Debate 2 00 

Brents (Dr. . W.) Gospel Plan of Salvation... 2 50 

Barbee (W. J.) Confirmation 10 

Campbell (A.) The Christian Baptist 3 00 

The Christian System 1 50 

Debate with Purcell 1 50 

Evidences of Christianity 1 50 

Lectures on the Pentateuch 1 50 

Christian Baptism 1 00 

Memors of Eld. Thos. Campbell.. 1 25 

Popular Lectures and Addresses. . . 3 00 

— ■ Living- Oracles 50 

Life and Death 10 

Six letters to a Skeptic 06 

Challen (James.) Koinonia 40 

Cory (N. E.) The Polymathist 200 

Creath (Jacob, Jr.) Autobiography of 1 25 

Destiny of the Wicked. A debate 1 50 

Dungan (D. R.) On the Rock 1 50 

Modern Phases of Skepticism 1 50 

— ■ Modern Revivalism 15 

■ Our Plea and Mission 10 

Prohibition {New) 1 00 

Ellmore (A.) Which is the True Church 15 

Errett (Isaac.) Walks about Jerusalem 1 00 

Talks to Bereans 1 00 

First Principles 15 

Our Position 05 

Spiritualism Self-condemned 06 

The Fellowship 10 

» — Plan of salvation 10 

True Basis ot Church Union 10 

Evans (F. W . ) Spiritualism on Trial 1 50 

Evans (C . P.) Evils of Intemperance 10 

Fanning (T.) True method of Searching Scripture. 15 

Franklin (Benj.) Christian Experience 10 

Union Movement 10 

Sermons Vol. 1 2 00 

Sermons Vol. 2 2 00 

Foy (J. H.) Going- back to Jerusalem i5 

Goodwin (Elijah,) Family Companion 1 50 

Hartzel (Jonas.) The Baptismal Controversy.... 100 

The Divinity of Christ 75 

Church Discipline 10 



Publlcatiofis of 



Hayden (A. S.) History of Disciples in the Wes- 
tern Reserve. 2 00 

Hinsdale (B. A.) The Genuineness and Authenti- 
city of the. Gospels 1 25 

Jewish Christian Church 10) 

History of a Great Mind 10 

Hobbs (A. I .) Philosophy of Getting Religion 10 

Johnson (John T . ) Biography of _ 1 00 

Lamar (J. S.) Commentary o~n Luke . Cloth 2 00 

Sheep 2 50 

Half calf 3 CO 

Lard (M. S. ) Commentary on Romans 3 00 

Loos (Chas Louis') Commentary on John. (In course 

of preparation 

Lucas (D. R . ) Paul Darst 1 00 

Apostolic Hymns and Songs 20 

Martin (J. L. ) Voice of Seven Thunders. 1 50 

Mathes and Brooks Debate 1 50 

Mathes (J . M . ) Western Preacher 2 00 

Letters to Bishop Morris 25 

Mathes(Mrs. A. M.)Woman's Work in the Church 10 

McLean (A.) Commission to Apostles 75 

McGarvey (J. W.) Commentary on Matthew and 

Mark. Cloth 2 60 

Sheep fc 2 50 

Half calf 3 00 

Commentary on Acts .' 1 50 

Meggs(Wm.) Mnemonics, or Aids to Memory 1 50 

Milligan (R.) Analysis ot Gospels and Acts 2 CO 

Reasons and Revelation 2 00 

Scheme of Redemption 2 00 

Treatise on Prayer JO 

Grace and Good Works 10 

Commentary on Hebrews. Cloth.... 2 00 

Sheep . 2 50 

Half calf 3 00 

Moore (W.T.) Views of Life 1 50 

Living Pulpit 4 00 

Commentary on Acts (in prepara- 
tion.) 

Our Strength and Weakness 10 

Church of the Future 10 

Woman's Work 10 

Mitchell ( J. P.) Pioneer Preacher .... 2 00 

Monser (J. W ) Follies of Free Thought 20 

Muenscher (Joseph) Orthography and Pronun- 
ciation 1 00 

Munnell and Sweeney. Shall Christians go to 

War 1 00 

Munnell (Thos.) Evangelists and their Work 10 

— _ Heathen Testimony 06 



CHRISTIAN HYNM-BOOK. 

A Compilation of Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, 

original and selected. By A. Campbell and others. Re- 
vised and enlarged by a committee. 

SMALL EDITION. (Pearl 4Smo.) 

Sheep $ 50 

* Arabesque 60 

Arabesque, gilt edge 90 

Imitation turkey, gilt edge 1 <»<• 

Turkev morocco, gilt edge 1 25 

Turkey, with gilt clasp 2 00 

LARGE EDITION. (Pica 12mo.) 

Sheep 2 00 

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Turkey morocco, beveled antique, gilt edge 4 00 

" " " " extra gilt 4 50 

MEDIUM EDITION. (Brevier 24mo.) 

Sheep 75 

Arabesque 1 00 

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" CHRISTIAN HYMNAL. 

A choice collection of . Hymns for Congregational and So- 
ci' 1 ! Worship, with tunes adapted to the 1,324 Hymns of 
the Christian Hymn-book, arranged by a Committee of 
Harmonists and Musical Authors, under the direction of 
the Christian Hymn- Book Committee, newly revised and 
enlarged. l2mo, 870 hymns, 4t9 tunes, 360 pages. Ele- 
gantlv bound in cloth, vermilion edges. 

English cloth .' $ 1 00 

" " beveled boards, gilt side, vermil- 
ion edge 1 25 

English cloth, beveled, gilt side and edge, (new de- 
sign) 2 00 

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Turkey morocco, extra, beveled, full gLt 3 75 

A discount of 2H per cent, on any of the above will be giv- 
en when ordered in quantities by express. Single copy 
sent by mail prepaid on receipt of retail price . 

CHKISTIAN HYMNAL. 

Cheap, Complete Edition, Bound in Boards. 

Single copy by mail 50 

Per dozen, by express 4 80 

Per hundred, by express .... 40 < 

Per dozen, bv mail 5 40 

Address CENTRAL BOOK CONCERN, 

Cincinnati, Ohio, or Oskaloosa, Iowa. 



Central Book Concern. 



Pendleton (W. K.) Commentary on Romans (in 
preparation .) 

Baptism for Remission of Sins 10 

PinkertOn (L. L.) Life, Letters and Addresses of. 1 50 

Bible Questions , 25 

Richardson (R.) Life of Campbell. Sheep 4 00 

Office of Holy Spirit 1 50 

Principles and Object of Reforma- 
tion 10 

Communings in the Sanctuary.... 1 00 

Randall (J. \V .^Mission of the Holy Spirit 10 

Rosecrans (J. H.) Pearly Gates 25 

Riverside; Or, Winning a Soul 75 

Rose Carleton's Reward 1 00 

Roe (Wm.) Bible vs Materialism 50 

Rowe (J . T.) Exposition of the New Birth 10 

History of Disciples 10 

— Unity of Holy Spirit 10 

Scott Walter.) The Messiahship 1 50 

Life of 2 00 

Smith (B. K.) Serial Discourses 1 50 

Smith (Eld. John.) Life of 2 00 

Staples (R. G.) Gospel Echoes 30 

Shaw (Knowles. ) Morning- Star 35 

Tully (J. C.) Scriptural Sanctirication 10 

Walsh (J T.) A Book of Sermons 1 50 

Salvation from Sin. 10 

Walden (F.) The Sabbath Question 10 

Christian Church Register. 

With various Special Rulings snd Printed Head- 
ings . Arranged by R. Moffett. Crown cap (9 by 
14 inches). 160 pages, cloth, leather back and 

corners 3 00 

Spring back 320 pages, extra binding 5 00 

Church Contribution Record. 

With Special Rulings and Printed Headings. 
Designed expressly for keeping systematic ac- 
count of Weeklv Contributions. Two editions. 

40 pages, $1 00; So pages 1 50 



Church Letters 

orms of commendat 
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Blank forms of commendation. Bound in books of 
100 each, with stub for reference 1 00 










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